Chronic Skinny Dog - I Sure Could Use Some Help Pls!

[Stitch]

No, definitely not interested in force feeding.

Anyone know what test would be useful in this case??

[Stitch]

Just thought I would add that I tried adding a small amount of porridge to the BARF tonight and she won't eat the BARF mix.

Any variation to the normal diet seems to cause this reaction. It would appear it has to be the same food with no variation or she won't eat.

And I can't feed the same food in greater quantities cause she just leaves it. Aarrrrggghhh!!!

[karly101]

Full blood test would be an aid in seeing if everything is working as it should... liver would be one possibility.

[WoofnHoof]

Yeah there is a test the do can't remember what it's called but your vet should know they take blood before and after feeding and compare the levels of various bile acids to see if the liver is doing it's job.

[Danois]

Have you tried feeding lots of smaller meals?

I had massive issues with feeding - my dane simply was not interested in food. After he had a gastropexy he was on small frequent meals and I found once he returned to being fed twice a day, he was eating more.

At 21 months he weighed about 55kg - breed average is about 70kg.

I finally only got weight on him with chicken frames (from a poultry place directly so high quality), EP Power formula (now feed Canidae Grain Free Salmon which comparable protein and fat levels) and porridge. Porridge was made with water when cooked in the microwave and then made all mushy with rice milk. This was mixed with kibble.

I also believe that some of his skinniness was down to hormones and since desexing its been easier to get weight on and keep it on.

He will not eat during the day either if he's anxious - some days he'll head straight to his bowl soon after I get home.

[Stitch]

It seems that eating/food is a real problem area for quite a few dogs.

I will take her along to get some blood tests although last time I discussed it with the vet he didn't think it was worth it cause she appeared to be healthy - skinny but healthy.

To me, comparing her with my others, she does not appear 'normal' to me!

[dancinbcs]

I have had three very reluctant eaters over the years and the good news is that they all grew out of the problem by about 3 years of age. All my others have been great eaters and I always feed all my dogs together.

The worst one would eat practically nothing between 5 and 8 months and I kept him going on DiVetelact made up thick like cream on days when he refused all food. He would not eat anything mushy like mince or stew but would eat small meatballs made from the same mince or chunks of meat. He wouldn't eat anything he had to put his nose into and would only eat if a very small amount was put in his plate at a time. Sometimes he would eat several small amounts adding up to a decent meal but if I put the whole quantity in the plate together he would look like he felt ill at the thought of food and walk away.He did however like odd things like rice cakes and raw carrots as if he was on a strict diet. None of this helped him to grow or get his weight up. He was always fed with my other dogs but even giving his uneaten food the others did not prompt him to eat. At three he suddenly decided food was good and ate normally from then on.

Another odd one would only eat in the presence of another dog and sometimes even needed to see the other dog eat some of the food from her plate first before she would touch it. We used to joke that she needed a taster to make sure it wasn't poisoned :D because she would watch the other dog intensely to see if it keeled over after eating the food. She would have days where she just wasn't hungry but nowhere near as bad as the earlier dog. Again this odd behaviour ended at about 3 years.

Lastly I have had one that would not eat outside as a youngster. He was just too busy watching and listening to what was going on around him to eat. Once I started to feed him inside he was fine. He has been raised on raw/fresh food and refuses any sort of commercial dog food or dog treat. He will take them then spit them out but will eat just about any real food offered now.

Edited to add: The most important things to remember with a really picky eater are to offer less food, not more and to go with whatever they will accept at the time just to get something into them. Offer foods one at a time, not mixed together to find out what they like or don't like.

Don't worry about the weight until you get them eating happily.

Edited April 12, 2011 by dancinbcs

[Stitch]

That is very interesting Dancinbcs.

What I want to know is why so many dogs have this 'thing' about eating??

Is it an immature digestive system, and/or maybe we are challenging their digestives systems too early so eating doesn't feel good to them and they get turned off eating??

Maybe some of the food we feed doesn't really agree with them and this pickyness is the result???

The only thing I know for sure is that round about the time of going to their new homes (10-16weeks) a pups appetite changes and this change also affects the one/s that aren't rehomed at that time.

Maybe that is a clue??

[poodlefan]

That is very interesting Dancinbcs.

What I want to know is why so many dogs have this 'thing' about eating??

Is it an immature digestive system, and/or maybe we are challenging their digestives systems too early so eating doesn't feel good to them and they get turned off eating??

Maybe some of the food we feed doesn't really agree with them and this pickyness is the result???

The only thing I know for sure is that round about the time of going to their new homes (10-16weeks) a pups appetite changes and this change also affects the one/s that aren't rehomed at that time.

Maybe that is a clue??

Not saying its the case here Stitch but I'd say for a reasonable proportion of picky/fussy dogs, owner anxiety is a component.

How much exercise does she get. It may seem counter intuitive to add more exercise to a skinny dog's lifestyle but exercise is a significant appetite stimulant and stress reliever.

I'd also want a general mouth/tooth check to eliminate causes like a slab fracture.

Edited April 12, 2011 by poodlefan

[dancinbcs]

That is very interesting Dancinbcs.

What I want to know is why so many dogs have this 'thing' about eating??

Is it an immature digestive system, and/or maybe we are challenging their digestives systems too early so eating doesn't feel good to them and they get turned off eating??

Maybe some of the food we feed doesn't really agree with them and this pickyness is the result???

The only thing I know for sure is that round about the time of going to their new homes (10-16weeks) a pups appetite changes and this change also affects the one/s that aren't rehomed at that time.

Maybe that is a clue??

I think that it is an individual thing like with children. There are lots of kids who hardly seem to eat and drive their parents nuts. Appetite varies and when you take away the competition of the litter in puppies, the incentive to eat can just disappear. Also keep in mind that older puppies grow in spurts, not at a consistant rate like they did in the first few weeks. Some days or weeks they will be growing a lot and be hungry, other times when they are not growing as much they may not be hungry at all. Nature designed dogs to eat when they are hungry and food is available, not to have the same amount of food at every meal each day. Plenty of hungry ones are happy to devour whatever we put down but some puppies are sometimes just not hungry and if we try to entice them to eat it creates negative connections to food for them and we end up with ongoing problems.

The best solution with a puppy with a light appetite is to offer small amounts of one of a few different types of food, one at a time then remove the food in about 10 minutes if they don't want it. Try again a few hours later with something else. If you find something they want, don;t be tempted to pile the plate up. Just offer another small amount, then another, etc, until they have had enough. Never leave food down, don't fuss and don't offer a smorgasboard for them to choose from at the one meal. Try to come up with something they will accept like divetelact or nutrigel to get some calories into them but otherwise let them be and wait for the appetitie to pick up. Feeding with another dog usually helps as does giving any unwanted to food to the other dog in front of them. I have only ever heard of one dog that literally starved himself nearly to death and was put down because of his severe eating disorder, so it is extremely rare. Most dogs eventually come good with their eating so long as the owner doesn't stress too much about it.

[Erny]

Edited to add: The most important things to remember with a really picky eater are to offer less food, not more and to go with whatever they will accept at the time just to get something into them. Offer foods one at a time, not mixed together to find out what they like or don't like.

Don't worry about the weight until you get them eating happily.

I so agree with all that Dancinbcs has written here. When I'm not sure of my boy's appetite, I offer a smaller portion of food. He eats that (if things are going good) and then a bit later, I am inclined to offer a bit more. At one point I was feeding my boy 4 to 5 times a day, with smaller portions and this seemed a very successful way of increasing his appetite until I could back it down to 3 times a day and then back to his normal twice a day.

And apart from not mixing food together so that you can find out what they like or don't like, I found I wasted quite a lot of food by mixing one with something else that put him off it. (Whereas there I was thinking that what he liked would over come what he didn't like - with fragile appetites, it doesn't tend to work that way.) Apart from which, if your dog is soooo hungry that she feels she must eat, mixing foods is potentially forcing her to eat the very thing that might cause a stomach upset. So mixing foods can create a negative whichever way you look at it.

And definitely the last sentence. Just concentrate on getting the dog to eat. The weight will come later. You will find this approach less stressful for yourself as well.

Something in addition : I have learnt to identify when my boy isn't 'in' to his food, before I've offered it to him. Sometimes but frequently enough, I find that if I go into full "Triangle of Temptation" training mode before I release him to his food, it will encourage him to eat it. I could go on to guess and ramble about why this might be so, but I don't think the reason much matters here - only that it does seem to help in many but not all occasions.

[Stitch]

I don't have enough time on my hands to really fuss about one particular dogs eating habits, so anxiety isn't an issue with me but it is difficult to see a dog that should be so solid looking so skinny.

I have been letting her lack of appetite hopefully resolve itself since the last vet visit about 3 months ago but she became prominent in my mind recently when I picked her up and all I could feel was ribs. Not what I like to feel.

I agree that mixing food is not the way to go - she just rejects foods that have been mixed. I also have to be careful of feeding too much, even if it is in small portions as she won't be hungry tomorrow if I feed her too much today. Luckily I have a long food chain here, with the 45kg Dobe boy being the last dish licker - he always has room for more so nothing is wasted!!! LOL

Miss Anorexia gets quite a bit of exercise but has been running around more recently than is normal for her as we have more kangaroos in the area at the moment, so I presume that is why I have noticed her lack of weight. I have just moved her into a kennel run so that she will have less distractions and can hopefully settle a bit more and I will put her on the exercise machine for a while each afternoon - that way I can control the exercise she does get more satisfactorily.

Tried the porridge & mince this morning - it was licked & not eaten so I removed it after 15 minutes. My other dogs thought porridge was just great and have put their orders in for it tomorrow!!! LOL I was hoping that the EVO would be more calorie dense than the ProPlan. I think she needs some tasty little calorie bombs to fatten her up!!!

[JulesP]

I wonder if texture has anything to do with it? Amber seems funny about really sloppy/sticky food. She sort of draws her lips back and tries to eat it without getting it on her muzzle.

[dancinbcs]

I wonder if texture has anything to do with it? Amber seems funny about really sloppy/sticky food. She sort of draws her lips back and tries to eat it without getting it on her muzzle.

Texture was definitely an issue with one of mine. The food had to be either liquid or solid, not in between.

[Stitch]

I also get the impression from all my trial and errors that texture is very important to this dog - but then what she leaves is readily eaten by all my others!

[Danois]

That might be part of it - how does she go when you hand her a treat or the like?

Boo is a funny one in this regard - he'll take it into his mouth, move it around, drop it out and then try and figure out how to eat it as opposed to a 'normal' dog that will just swallow it or crunch it in the teeth.

I gave him some slices of apple one day and he just did not know what to do with it eating wise.

[Dogsfevr]

Have you tried ice cream.

I currently have a bad eater here & like you i don't pander but in this case i have had to do some things i wouldn't normally & re establishing how to eat has been a must & in 2 weeks we have been working we are getting somewhere.

I started with ice cream which really seemed to click,small portions like mentioned so it was always eaten . each few days we are getting new things eaten ,small steps but it does give you hope

[Stitch]

Yep, I think there are so many aspects to this non-eating thing it is difficult to determine exactly what it is that is the root of the problem.

Every now and then I get a dog that doesn't like to take a treat from my hand. I put this down to submissive behaviour even though they were not particularly submissive dogs they were polite with me when it came to food. This didn't mean that they were picky eaters however.

I bought in a pup and he had to learn that Luv Em Liver cookies were really good to eat. He had never had them or hard dog biscuits either and he needed time to get used to them. Whilst puppies that are born here seem to naturally know that these kinds of food are great right from an early age.

But I digress - no I haven't tried icecream with Miss Anorexia but I did try Jalna Vanilla Yoghurt and she wouldn't eat it on the several times I introduced it to her.

Good news though, by restricting her activity during the day by putting her in a kennel run as opposed to a large exercise yard I am getting her (or the birds) to eat 1/4 cup of Royal Canin dry food which I leave with her. Lets hope it continues because I have celebrated prematurely before only to find that after a while she won't eat.

[Dogsfevr]

Mine wont touch yogurt LOL but will do the ice cream .

I generally do Neapolitan due to the 3 flavours .

As you say at present no great celebrations but we are getting there in small steps which is always encouraging .

[Danois]

I find the natural yoghurt is more popular. Parmesan cheese also works a treat sprinkled on the food. Unfortunately I now cannot get yoghurt or parmesan out of the fridge without someone getting excited!

Maccas soft serve is good to try icecream wise.